Agnes Ezennadozie had called her husband, Peter, to alert him of what looked like trouble. “She called me and said ‘Honey, it’s like a riot is taking place’,” recalled Mr Ezennadozie, barely holding back tears. “I asked her how safe she was and she said they were at a police station. Later, she called to say the hoodlums were surrounding the station and I told her to run from there. As we were talking, I heard a scream and then nothing,” he added.

photo:Governor Obi receiving the body of the slain youth corps member from Anambra State, Agnes Ezennaedozie (Nee Anyanwu), who was given a state burial at the Governemnt House, Awka, yesterday.

He called her line repeatedly without reply. Some two hours later, a male voice came on the line to tell him that the owner of the phone was seriously injured. He later learnt that his wife of three months had been taken to the Federal Medical Centre in Bauchi. He prevailed on the hospital staff to take his wife to a particular hospital in downtown Bauchi. From there she was moved to Abuja for further treatment. She died 12 days later.

Good programme gone awry

It was dreamed up as a scheme to engender unity among Nigeria’s youth fresh from the nation’s higher institutions. But the fate of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) currently hangs in the balance as recent events threaten to undermine its continued existence.

Established in 1973 by the Yakubu Gowon administration, the scheme was also aimed at healing the wounds of a 30-month civil war which the nation had survived three years earlier. The scheme offered the fresh graduates the opportunity of serving the country outside of their states of origin. There is no doubt that many would not have known about the different cultures in the country if not for the scheme.

However, in recent times religious and now political crises in parts of the country, especially the north, have turned what was supposed to unite Nigerians into an objectionable venture.

This latter development was poignantly brought to the fore by the senseless killing of many innocent youth corps members in some northern states, especially Bauchi and Kaduna, by gangs of youth protesting the loss of their favoured candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, at the just concluded general elections.

The protesters descended on the hapless corps members who served as ad hoc staff for the nation’s electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission. When the dust settled, there was general weeping and anguish by a shocked nation. Many of its youth had been slaughtered like animals in the course of serving their fatherland.

In the midst of all this is the very heart-rending case of Mrs Ezennadozie, who was carrying a six-week old pregnancy after her wedding in February this year. Mrs Ezennadozie, who hailed from Achina in Anambra State, died as a result of the first degree burns she sustained in Bauchi when the hoodlums invaded and set fire to a police station where the corps members had fled to for safety.

Indescribable pain

Mr Ezennadozie wondered what his wife had done to those who murdered her to deserve such a fate. He wondered why Nigerians, especially northerners, had no wish to, in his words, “Stop the rubbish act of killing innocent people because of religion and politics.”

“How can someone just kill an innocent girl? The federal government should stop this act of northerners,” he said. As a solution to that, Mr Ezennadozie is of the opinion that those from the north should serve in the north while their southern counterparts should serve in the south. That way, he said, “if the north wants to kill its own children, it would be their choice.”

While receiving the remains of Mrs Ezennadozie at Government House last Thursday, the state governor, Peter Obi, said, “Today casts a pall of darkness over Anambra State as we receive the corpse of Mrs Ezennadozie who as you know was among the corps members hacked down in their prime during the post-presidential election crisis that engulfed parts of northern Nigeria.” He regretted that the late Agnes Ezennadozie paid the supreme price while answering a call to national service.

“Unfortunately, a programme designed as a veritable instrument for national integration turned disastrous when uninformed youths hiding behind the veil of politics visited violence on fellow Nigerians,” Mr Obi lamented.

He called on the federal government to henceforth assure corps members outside the northern zone of adequate protection or nobody would be willing to serve again. “We will serve the nation but not at the expense of our lives. We must serve the nation but the nation must protect us, if not we will not serve. We must negotiate before you (corpers) get back,” the governor said, noting that he had asked the federal government to ensure that those behind the act do not go free.

He promised that his government would not allow the deceased’s family to walk alone and pointed out that the state government had fully taken over the funeral expenses of the slain corps member.

To scrap or not to scrap

Some who spoke to NEXT after the short reception expressed worry over the incessant killings in the North and called on the federal government to either review the NYSC scheme or scrap it. They echoed the widower’s line that those from the various zones should serve in their zones.

“The NYSC should not be abolished but that corps members should serve in their zones,” said Nkiru Orji, a journalist.

Tony Anyanwu, also a journalist with the Nigerian Television Authority, said that much as he sympathised with the deceased’s family, he would still insist that the scheme should be modified rather than scrapped. He however said that if the country was desirous of keeping the scheme, it must urgently deal with factors causing what he called “the incessant crises” and that offenders should face the law.

For Shadrack Nnanna of the National Orientation Agency, corps members should be allowed to choose where they would prefer to serve in order for them to accept their fate whatever happens. He suggested that, alternatively, graduates should be subjected to military training in lieu of national service and afterwards helped to settle down in society afterwards as is the practice in Egypt.

Given that many parents would not want to give up their children to another horror similar to the post-election violence, the likelihood of the runaway corps members across the nation returning to their host states in the north continues to look bleak as the programme totters on the brink of total rejection by Nigerians.

The next time you are a Delta flight, check out the latest issue of Sky magazine, featuring Jay Z.

In the interview Jay talks about everything from a new label to Broadway, and addresses those pesky Illuminati rumors and the delay in the Watch the Throneproject with Kanye West.

On being in a secret society:

“It may sound a little arrogant, but I just think people can’t handle when somebody is successful. Something has gotta be wrong; you gotta be down with some higher power. And I guess when someone else is successful, it makes you feel like maybe you’re a failure. So it can’t be you, it has to be some other force.”

On working with Kanye:

“’Ye is just in an extraordinarily creative place—so much so that I need to get him to focus so we can finish this. But music is his refuge right now.”

 

 

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Breaking News:

Pastor Bakare Latest: Mass Exodus Hits Latter Rain Church "do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers" http://bit.ly/j4q2I2

Lagos: Notorious Armed Robber Arrested pleads for his girlfriend to be left out of it all ..Claims to be former PA to a Lagos State deputy Governor ! http://bit.ly/m5jm9f

Imo Guber Polls:Rochas Okorocha is Governor Electhttp://bit.ly/jYzTQR

Jay Z I aint NO Illuminati: The next time you are a Delta flight, check out the latest issue of Sky magazine, fe... http://bit.ly/lwzL6c

Our Big Brother Representative Karen Igho. There is something about Karen that says ho ho ho ! and it this is not Christmas http://bit.ly/jQcJZd

Lady Gaga 7th Most powerful woman in the world mocks Jesus in Mary Magdalene Motorcycle Photo http://bit.ly/jQ34QJ

9ja's Denrele: Transitions from weird to going boy gaga !

http://bit.ly/jQ34QJ

Vampires or Bankers: Aig ImokuedeThe Access Bank MD from a parrallel view by huhuonline. Persecution or Prosecution you be the judge.http://bit.ly/jHdHxn

Dele Giwa's Legacy Sold: Jimoh Ibrahim acquires Newswatch magazine, What Happened to the Premier of Investigative Journalism ?: LAGOS - A...http://bit.ly/jcLps9

Odemwingie wins Barclays Player-of-the-Month award againhttp://bit.ly/iE77zS

 City People Magazine:  There is a great unrest in pastor Tunde Bakare's Latter Rain Church as many members have deserted the church saying they can no longer follow the doctrine of a man who joined forces with a man (General Buhari) perceived by many, even Northerners, as an Islamic fundamentalist, who told his northern follows never to vote for anyone who was not a Muslim.

photo: weep not General & the unequally yoked believer 

Pastor Bakare in the perspective of some of his congregation may have flouted the biblical injunction which says 'Do not be unequally yoked to an unbeliever'.

Also according to one member of his church, he clearly went against a declaration he made in 2006 in a popular Nigerian Daily where he declared this "Let me tell you the truth by the spirit of God, neither Obasanjo, Atiku, IBB, Buhari, are part of the new. They are part of the old that is decaying. That old is passing away. The new is emerging and these ones are not part of the new."

So it irked some of his members that he could eat his words and join forces with the 'old'. They say despite his ability to hear God's voice, he still took the plunge and latched unto a man that had been divinely rejected by God, making it daunting that the pastor got a revelation from God and then blatantly acted against it.

I DONT BLAME DEM O ! 

Is Big Brother Beneficial ? Really lets ask ourselves 

Nigeria is being represented by a 27-years old lady, Karen Igho.She is based in London and has had silicon bosoms surgery (i.e IMPLANTS, FAKE bosom e.t.c). Does this lady really represent a true Nigeria girl? I mean In November 2007, she paid £4,000 for a bosom implant and a further £250 each night for 5 nights, the surgery got her from a BB cup to a DD cup (Double Decker). She is a graduate of Theatre Art from Southwark College, London and made an appearance in the 2008 edition of the Next Movie Star. We hear she owns a Night club so dont blame her . It is her trade .Now the questions i ask Does she Represent Nigerian Girls ? NO ! 

hmmm

Nice pose

but then what is this ? competition with Cossy Orjiakor ?

Confucius say: To become more Famous Dress & Act Mad . To become notorious add Blasphemy

9ja's  Denrele: Transitions from weird to going boy gaga !   see below for photo transitions   

Lady Gaga in Mexico City yesterday where she went to promote her new album. She really does know how to get attention.

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American pop singer-songwriter. After performing in the rock music scene of New York City's Lower East Side in 2003 and later enrolling at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, she soon signed with Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records. During her early time at Interscope, she worked as a songwriter for fellow label artists and captured the attention of rapper Akon, who recognized her vocal abilities, and signed her to his own label, Kon Live Distribution.Gaga came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album The Fame (2008), which was a commercial success and achieved international popularity with the singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". The album reached number one on the record charts of six countries, accomplished positions within the top-ten worldwide, and topped the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart while simultaneously peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States. Achieving similar worldwide success, The Fame Monster (2009), its follow-up, produced a further two global chart-topping singles "Bad Romance" and "Telephone" and allowed her to embark on a second global headlining concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour, just months after having finished her first, The Fame Ball Tour. Her second studio album, Born This Way, is scheduled for release on May 23, 2011[3] after the arrival of its eponymous lead single "Born This Way", which achieved the number-one spot in countries worldwide and was the fastest-selling single in iTunes history, selling one million copies in five days.[4]Inspired by glam rock artists like David Bowie, Elton John and Queen, as well as pop singers such as Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Amy Winehouse,[5] Gaga is well-recognized for her outré sense of style in fashion, in performance and in her music videos. Her contributions to the music industry have garnered her numerous achievements including five Grammy Awards, among twelve nominations; two Guinness World Records;[6] and the estimated sale of fifteen million albums and fifty-one million singles worldwide.[7][8] Billboard named her both the Artist of the Year in 2010[9] and the top selling artist of 2010;[10] ranking her as the 73rd Artist of the 2000s decade.[11] Gaga has been included in Time magazine's annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world as well as Forbes' list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential celebrities in the world.[12][13] Forbes also placed her at number seven on their annual list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women.[14]

Nigerias Denrele an up and coming Boy Gaga ?

From this to 

The Access Bank MD from a parrallel view by huhuonline.com . Persecution or Prosecution you be the judge.

He is called Aigbogun, Aig-Imokuede but his close aides and associates have given him the sonorous unflattering sobriquet of “God’s Banker”. His critics describe him as erratic, unpredictable and sometimes mentally unsteady. He is a chronic womanizer and skirt-

chaser who has transformed Access Bank into a prostitution ring where female employees have been reduced to sex objects at the service of the bank. He is also known to have hot pants and an uncontrollable libido which makes him lascivious and lecherous as a he-goat.  

Banking sources tell Huhuonline.com that there has been a lot of concern lately, about the plight of Access bank employees, particularly female workers amid widespread allegations that under Aig-Imokuede’s watch, young ladies in Access bank are engaged in disguised prostitution, using indecent exposure, sexual inducement and other unethical means to woo customers to Access bank. Aig-Imokuede is said to have ordered a review of Access bank’s employment policy to make sure that priority is given to “female bankers”, who on the strength of their body appeal end up at the marketing department. 

For a man who boasts about his very strong anti-union credentials, Aig-Imokuede has introduced anti-labor practices in Access bank, which include the undue harassment bank staff particularly those in the marketing department and the deliberate employment of young girls who are sent into the market to hunt for deposits. Aig-Imokuede even insists that condoms be distributed to his female staff whenever they are sent on assignments! Access bank female staff, close sources told Huhuonline.com are warned against getting married, and advised not to have children except with the express permission of the bank MD/CEO, Aig-Imokuede. As a matter of policy, Access bank staff are not allowed to join unions in the industry. 

A CBN source told Huhuonline.com that facing stiff competition, Aig-Imokuede is obsessed with sourcing bank deposits from the public by any means possible. Documents obtained from the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) by Huhuonline.com show that Skye Bank reported the highest growth of 20% in loans and advances in 2010, compared to previous year; Access Bank came second with 12%, followed by First Bank with 5.5%; Zenith, 2.0%; and UBA, 1.3%. The success of Access Bank is thanks to the many tactics of inducement adopted by Aig-Imokuede. In effect Access bank halls have become mini disco halls and fashion houses.  

Aig-Imokuede’s Mercedes is bigger than yours!!!

Aig-Imokuede has engaged in an ego contest with other bank chiefs.  His modus operandi at Access Bank and his actions are conditioned by a "My-Mercedes-is-bigger-than yours" mentality. All of a sudden Access Bank no longer wants to be Nigerian bank. It wants to be among the biggest banks in Africa if not the world. To which end, Aig-Imokuede thinks it is also fashionable to open offshore branches and to lay claim to being international, he boasts about Access Bank being an affiliate of bigger banks in the world. 

Impossible targets are set for the staff in the marketing department; marketing has become perhaps the most important function in Access Bank. Aig-Imokuede has also come up with what he calls relationship management. The targets that are set have more or less no limits. Once a banker meets a particular limit, a higher target is set. And so Access Bank has created a set of schizophrenics and terrorists of sorts. Aig-Imokuede sends his staff onto the streets to go and get customers "by any means". University graduates wearing funny Access Bank T-shirts run after you and pester you with subscription forms. You are asked to open accounts, to deposit money, to help look for other depositors. Access Bank staff go to bed thinking of deposits, dream deposits and wake up every day to chase deposits.  

This evil and vaulting ambition of Aig-Imokuede can be seen in his current obsession with sourcing deposits, and the cut-throat competition he has launched against the other banks. The situation in Access Bank is so bad it is beginning to look like a form of madness. Aig-Imokuede routinely orders Access Bank staff to go onto the streets to dance and entertain the public as a way of raising awareness about its services. If you don't know how to dance or how to solicit for deposits like beggars on the streets, you lose your job! In Access Bank, everybody is asked to bring deposits, including drivers and messengers, and Aig-Imokuede's secretary. You don't have to be a banker, just bring money to the bank; introduce a customer. 

The management of Access Bank is also destroying family life. Several Access Bank staff, who elected anonymity for obvious reasons, painted pictures that expose the hellacious ordeal of female bankers who are coerced into engaging in shameful dehumanizing sexual escapades in a desperate effort to meet unrealistic goals and expectations set for them by the unscrupulous, heartless and mean-spirited Aig-Imokuede. Bank staff are made to work long hours, closing late in the evening and work on weekends. Aig-Imokuede has categorically told female bankers in Access Bank that they cannot have children as often as they want, and should any one of them choose to make babies instead of serving the bank, she may not be promoted at the same pace as her colleagues.

Three phrases rule Aig-Imokuede’s banking world, one: deposit/target, two: warning letter or suspension and three: termination of appointment. 

These are the kind of allegations that the CBN should investigate and make an example out of Access Bank and Aig-Imokuede. The Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIBN) and the Central Bank of Nigerian (CBN) should stop banks from sending their staff onto the streets to dance and entertain prospective shareholders. Access Bank must also be told to set realistic targets for their marketing staff (if they must set targets), design other performance measurement benchmarks, and concentrate more on raising the quality of their service: the surest way to build customer confidence. The present Gestapo tactics by Aig-Imokuede dehumanizes and endangers the lives of Access Bank staff and sabotages the banking profession in Nigeria. The CBN and the CIBN ought to be concerned about this. 

Dele Giwa's Legacy sold : Jimoh Ibrahim acquires Newswatch magazine, What Happened to the "Premier" of Investigative Journalism in Nigeria Ray Ekpu Yakubu Mohammed, Dan Agbese etc the site is aesthetically disheartning  http://www.newswatchngr.com/ Nigeria We indeed Hail thee.

Who killed Dele Giwa still is a mystery ..

General Togun's Book out . For more info email us togunsbook@systemini.net

LAGOS - As part of measures to save the moribund Newswatch magazine, business mogul and Publisher of National Mirror titles, Mr Jimoh Ibrahim, and his turn-around team, Thursday, concluded arrangement for the final acquisition of the magazine when it signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the former owner and the new management. 

Under the new arrangement, the backlog of seven months staff salary being owed are to be paid by the new management while all debts being owed will also be offset by the new owner. 
Addressing members of staff of the magazine yesterday, Ibrahim, who introduced the principal members of his turn-around team, explained that his turn-around mission in Newswatch magazine would not tamper with the editorial build up of the magazine but would be greatly concentrated in the managerial aspect of the company to ensure that the vision of the founding fathers of the magazine does not "go under, but survive." 
Speaking further, Ibrahim who expressed confidence in the ability of the editorial departments to deliver also stated that though he has not done a proper diagnosis of the paper but he was relying on the reports submitted by members of his acquisition team who stated that the principal problem of the magazine was that of finance and not incompetence, hence his readiness to invest in the magazine. 
While assuring the employees of having no plans of sacking anyone, he explained that those that may be affected are those who joined the company without following the due process or those that have fraudulent promotion or those that are owing the company's money and have not reconciled their accounts. 
To demonstrate his readiness to ensure a speedy take_off of the magazine under the new management, Ibrahim explained that the new management has resolved that all the employees of Newswatch magazine will as from today (Friday) commence a training and orientation to upgrade and refresh their knowledge to conform with the realities and aspirations of the new management of the company. 
Towards this, all employees of the magazine were directed to report at Nicon Hotel and Suites, Ajah by 8:00 a.m Friday 6th May, 2011for the orientation course that will take them through to Sunday 8th, May, 2011. 
While promising a cash injection to take care of the outstanding salary arrears as well as to offset the debt incurred by the company, Jimoh Ibrahim also told the employees to be ready to swap job to any of the companies already in his conglomerate if they so desired. 
Among the principal officers that make up the turn_around team for Newswatch magazine is the editor of the magazine, Bala Dan Abu who is saddled with the editorial build_up portfolio, while the position of Mr Ray Ekpu as the C.E.O of the magazine was said to be altered to a higher pedestal.

The Dele Giwa Murder: Where are they now

Ibrahim Babangida

In 2001, Mr. Babangida was summoned before the Justice Oputa panel based on a petition sent by Gani Fawehinmi, Giwa’s lawyer. Mr. Babangida refused to appear, and went to court to challenge the legality of the panel asking that it be barred from compelling him to appear before it.

Both the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court (2004) ruled in his favour. In October 2008 he told a Lagos-based television station: “I feel really pained that the cold hands of death snatched him... The killers of Dele Giwa were not found because Nigerians had already made up their minds on who the killers were... Nigerians did not co-operate with the government, that is why it has proved difficult to apprehend the killers of Dele Giwa.”

Kayode Soyinka

Kayode Soyinka, the London Bureau Chief of Newswatch, survived the blast that killed Dele Giwa. He fled to the United Kingdom, and remained in exile for eight years. In 1994, he founded a monthly newsmagazine, Africa Today. In recent years he has been visible on the political field, with gubernatorial attempts in Ogun State on the platform of opposition parties. He has indicated interest in contesting the 2011 governorship election.

Ray Ekpu

Dele Giwa’s friend and deputy at Newswatch. Both men were also neighbours in Ikeja. He took over the management of Newswatch Communications after Dele Giwa’s death, and remains its Chief Executive Officer and Editor-in-chief.

Kunle Togun

At the time of Giwa’s death he was a Lieutenant Colonel and the Deputy Director-General of the State Security Service. Mr. Togun went on to retire as a Brigadier-General, and in 2004 published a book on the Dele Giwa assassination, “Dele Giwa: The Unanswered Questions”, in which he denies complicity in Giwa’s death.His book includes a public letter to Giwa’s mother, in which he says: “I swear to you in the name of the Living God that I knew nothing and have no hand in the death of your dear son, Dele.” Togun is currently active in the clamour for the creation of Oke Ogun State out of the present Oyo State.

Halilu Akilu

He was Director of Military Intelligence at the time of Giwa’s death. He later went on to become Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, and then National Security Coordinator. He was among a batch of 17 military officers retired by Abacha on November 27, 1993.

Gani Fawehinmi

Gani, Dele Giwa’s lawyer, instituted 38 court cases and made more than 200 court appearances in his quest for justice regarding the assassination. In January 1990 he was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for contempt of court, a fallout of a libel case brought against him by Mr.Akilu and Mr.Togun. Gani testified before the Justice Oputa Panel on December 11, 2000 and July 11, 2001. Fawehinmi died of lung cancer on September 5, 2009.

Chris Omeben

At the time of Giwa’s death he was the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police heading the Criminal Investigations Department, and therefore in charge of the investigations into the bombing. At an Oputa Panel sitting he was mentioned by Abubakar Tsav as the person who knew what happened to the Dele Giwa murder case files. Now RT. Rev. Dr. Chris A. Omeben, he is the Archbishop of Jesus Family Ministries Church, and President of All Neighbours Institute of Theology, Lagos.

Mohammed Buba Marwa

In June 2009 Mr. Marwa was accused, in widely publicized interviews with at least two media houses, by Taiyemiwo Ogunade of being the courier of the bomb that killed Dele Giwa. In Marwa’s defence, a statement was issued by Bayo Yusuf, his Personal Assistant, saying that between September and November 1986 Marwa (who took command of 233 Tank Battalion in August 1986) was involved in the annual battalion test exercise in Bauchi State.

Mr. Marwa is Nigeria’s High Commissioner to South Africa, having previously served as Military Administrator of Borno and Lagos States.

James Oduneye

A 1968 graduate of the Nigerian Law School, he was the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions at the time of Giwa’s death. He later became the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, and then a Judge of Lagos State. In 1993 he ordered Classique magazine to pay ₦10 million to Mr. Akilu, as damages for libel. He retired in February 2004 as a Justice of the Ikeja High Court.

Eniola Fadayomi

She was the Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice when Giwa was murdered. In February 1988 she filed murder charges against Akilu and Togun. On the day the case came up for hearing she agreed with the defence that the accused had no case to answer. She is the chairperson of Millennium Harvest Limited, Publishers of Financial Standard Newspapers, and Principal Partner, Eniola Fadayomi & Co. She is also the 2nd Vice President of the Institute of Directors.

Abubakar Tsav

He was the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) assigned to the Dele Giwa murder case. He later became Commissioner of Police in Lagos, Oyo, Abia and Sokoto states. In his statement to the Oputa Panel he said:

“I submitted an interim report high lighting my preliminary findings ...and recommended that both Col. Haliku Akilu and Lt. Colonel A. K. Togun against whom there was strong circumstantial evidence for conspiracy and murder, be made available for interrogation and voice identification… He is now an outspoken social critic and commentator on national affairs

West Brom striker, Osaze Odemwingie today picked up the Barclays Player-of-the-Month award for April.

It is the second time this season the Nigerian, who already has 14 goals to his name, will be receiving the award after previously been named the league’s best player last September.

Odemwingie has enjoyed a sensational month and his scoring exploits have helped to all but secure Albion’s Barclays Premier League survival.

He began April with a superb performance against Liverpool, winning the two penalties Chris Brunt netted to seal a 2-1 victory.

The Nigeria international then had a hand in all three of Albion’s goals, in a thrilling 3-2 win against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, scoring one and setting up two.

His outstanding form continued with goals against Chelsea and Tottenham, and he rounded off the month by firing the equaliser in a 2-1 derby victory over Villa, at The Hawthorns - becoming the first-ever Baggies player to score in four successive Premier League games.

The decision was made by the Barclays Awards Panel, which includes representatives from football’s governing bodies, the media and fans.

Giant killers Niger are upbeat they could again upset their more illustrious neighbours Nigeria at the 2011 WAFU Nations Cup on Saturday in Abeokuta, near Lagos.

Niger sent Nigeria packing from the 2011 Championship of African Nations (CHAN) and are now drawn against the home-based Eagles in the sub-regional WAFU Cup.

"We are here to win again," boasted Niger defender Harouna Ide on his team’s arrival.

"Nigeria are a big team but we have also showed that we can compete with the best teams in Africa like Egypt and Nigeria."

Ide, who until recently starred for Nigeria Premier League (NPL) side Kano Pillars, is one of a handful experienced players who are in Nigeria for the annual WAFU tournament.

"The squad for this competition is mainly made up of players from our under-20 team, who recently toured Saudi Arabia and Algeria. We are handled by the national team assistant coach as the main coach is undergoing a course," the big central defender informed

MTNFootball.com.

Defending champions Nigeria got off to a winning start on Thursday when they pipped Liberia 1-0.

How notorious armed robbery suspect was arrested confessed to be a one- time Personal Assistant of a Deputy Governor of Lagos state


By Evelyn Usman &Victor Akpa-Fresh


The peace and tranquility associated with Our Lady of Fatimah Catholic Church , Aguda Surulere in Lagos, was last Wednesday truncated following the unprecedented arrival of men of the underworld, at about 1.30am, thereby jolting the Reverend Father and other occupants in the residential area, from sleep.


Photo:The Suspect Okon:"Leave my Girlfriend out of this ". The statment was singular and pregnant with meaning but her complicity will come out with time .

Without mincing word, the robbers went about the business of the day , by first, tying the security man up, before making straight for the church's vault where millions of naira were carted away. The robbers who threw moral and the fear of God to the dogs, did not leave the premises without dispossessing the Reverend Father of an unspecified amount of money and other valuables.

Today, most women and men discuss issues of violence in other people's relationships without knowing or identifying similar traits within their own bad relationships, let alone getting out of them. Violence in whatever form, within or outside the home, has its implications on personal development, and addressing violence in its earlier stages reduces its re-occurrence.

However, the fact that not all people can identify violence at an early stage is a problem. Interactions with women who survived violent relationships have revealed that when their abuse started, most of them were silent about it because they did not recognise or see the signs as something to worry about.

Recognise the signs

As individuals, we need to check this list to be sure we are safe from abusive relationships. If you are in a relationship where your partner calls you names; insults you or talks continuously about your weaknesses; does not trust you and acts envious or possessive all the time; tries to isolate you from family or friends; monitors where you go, who you call and whom you associate with; does not want you to work, controls your finances or refuses to share money; punishes you by withholding affection; expects you to ask permission; threatens to hurt you, the children, your family or your pets; or humiliates you in any way, then you are in an abusive relationship.

It is worse when your partner has ever: damaged property when angry (thrown objects like bottles, punched walls, broken glasses); pushed, slapped, bitten, kicked or choked you; abandoned you in a dangerous or unfamiliar place; scared you by driving recklessly; used a weapon to threaten or hurt you; forced you to leave your home; and locked you out. Similarly, you can be sure you are in an abusive relationship if your partner has trapped you in your home or kept you from leaving; stopped you from making calls to the police or seeking medical attention; hurt your children; or used physical force in sexual situations.

Take action

The list above is not exhaustive as there may be several other signs not mentioned here. But the reality is that in whatever form it comes, abuse is dangerous and a red alert to immediately seek help or intervention to break the silence. Talking to someone about it does not mean you are weak. It only means you are empowered, courageous and can take control of your own life, which no one else owns but you. You are responsible for all the consequences thereafter.

Beyond the pain that comes with abuse - psychologically, physically, socially, and economically - it has its untold strain on the human resources much needed for one's development, because only a sound mind can make meaningful contributions to any process.

As citizens of the world, as declared in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, protection and freedom from pain is a universal right and should not be denied anyone under any circumstance. Therefore, now is the time to say no to all forms of abusive relationships within the home, in offices, and any other space - public, local and international.

Written by Sakirat Adekunle Friday, May 6, 2011 The problem of accomodation and lack of infrastructure in the tertiary institutions in Nigeria today has reached a whole new level. Because of the many hassles applicants face before they are granted admission, namely the set cut-off scores by individual tertiary institutions among others, applicants have had to put up with whatever institution they were given admission and in most cases, move away from home, if they failed to meet the standards of the institution of their choice. Also, with the large and growing number of applicants churned out by the secondary schools, accomodation for these students has remained a problem. advertisement Although the government and private sectors have proffered various solutions, among which were the privatisation of hostel accomodation for undergraduates, enabling business minded individuals to build private hostels, the increasing number of applicants every year has made it insufficient.

This, has made some home owners a.k.a landlords, to cash in on the unfortunate situation where it existed. Apart from the exorbitant rent, the non-availability of residential houses has also become a serious issue. While the stakeholders have been searching for an end to the menace, some undergraduates who spoke to the Nigerian Tribune hinted that they had devised various means of solving the problem, not minding the morality of their solutions. One of it is called the 'couples life' which is unauthorised co-habitation of both male and female students in the same apartment. To students it is called 'campus couples'.

In some campuses, the partner may not be a student of the host institution. Nigerian Tribune learnt that there are two types of campus couples: the permanent couples and temporary couples. Permanent couples live together in the same apartment while temporary couples often spend time with each other during the day, not living together in the same apartment. While many have criticised the action, others argue that with most students having no place to stay and with the exorbitant rents on the available private accomodations, undergraduates may not have a choice but to suscribe to 'couples life'. Adeyinka Sanyaolu, a 300Level Mass Communication Student, Lead City University said, "living together as lovers and having intimacy with your partner can lead to unwanted pregnancy which may lead to HIV/AIDs infection during abortion or affect them academically and this is not good".

Nnamdi Okafor, a 400Level Computer Information Student, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, also described campus couple as, "two people having fun together in order not to be bored. Being companions while planning for their future, he argued that they could end up as married couples or friends in the future. However, he said that if they indulged in sexual intercourse, it could bring them down both physically and academically". Jare Adeleke, a contractor, remarked that, "staying together in the same apartment is not a good idea, since they have not been joined together as husband and wife. Most ladies find it difficult to be independent and it can lead to unwanted pregnancy and then they will fail to get married in the future". In her view, Onyeka Ekeh, a 300 Level Mass Communication Student, Lead City University believes that "normally boyfriend and girlfriend do things together, so that, they can spend money for each other. Most ladies often engage in the trend to raise funds to cater for their educational expenses. The process of aborting an unwanted pregnancy, a fallout of such relationship, can lead to womb damage", she said. Corroborating Ekeh's view, Tope Aje, a 200Level Mass Communciation Student of the same University, said, "poverty is the main factor that gives rise to cases of campus couples." She stated that a personal relationship is a different thing entirely because it is emotionally driven adding that poor financial situation could make some of them to live together, leading to unseriousness. "Some believe that it will help them out financially and it can lead to pregnancy", she said. Bukola Adewumi, a 400 Level Microbiology Student of the University of Ibadan, Ibadan said, "it is very romantic to live together as husband and wife, doing things in common and taking a collective decision as a family".

In his own opinion, Damilare Afolabi, a 200 Level Computer Science Student, Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, said, "having something in common between two people, by giving helping hands, leads to sex and pregnancy. An attempt to abort such pregnancy can even result in death. It is a condemnable act". However, parents' opinion about campus couples differ. In her own opinion, Mrs.Owabire Oluremi, a trader, described a campus couple as "two people living together as husband and wife without being legally married or engaged. Said she, "Although, they are doing so to satisfy their lustful desires, it is ungodly and bad". She also urged parents to teach their children the way of God and advised students to change their attitude for better and have the fear of God in their lives.

A retiree, Mr. Akinwale A.A., decried campus couple life. "It is not a normal life because they sent them to school to learn and not to live together as husband and wife. Students should listen to their lecturers so that, they will achieve their aims and objectives in the campus", he said. In a chat with the Nigerian Tribune, Mr. A. Moses, a staff of a publishing outfit in Ibadan said, "campus couple is a very dangerous life and it is not encouraging. Some people are doing it for money making purposes. The result of such attitude is unwanted pregnancy. Students should desist from it and they should be content with what their parents are giving to them". Mrs. Olawoyin Bolatito, a trader said, "living together as campus couples is not a good attitude, saying, however, that there are circumstances that led some practitioners of the act into doing so, most of them do not know that the reasons they gave for indulging in the act are not tenable at the end of the day. She, therefore, urged parents to be very vigilant on the type of lifestyles their wards live". In a nutshell, whatever justification is given for the immoral act, most people believe it should not be encouraged, not minding the debate on whether the action is good or bad.

The announcement by the Islamist militant organization, which promised to publish a taped message from bin Laden soon, appeared intended to show its adherents around the globe the group had survived as a functioning network.

In a statement online, it said the blood of bin Laden, shot to death by a U.S. commando team in a raid on Monday on his hide-out in a Pakistani town, "is more precious to us and to every Muslim than to be wasted in vain.

"It will remain, with permission from Allah the Almighty, a curse that hunts the Americans and their collaborators and chases them inside and outside their country."

Al Qaeda urged Pakistanis to rise up against their government to "cleanse" the country of what it called the shame brought on it by bin Laden's shooting and of the "filth of the Americans who spread corruption in it."

The statement also warned Americans not to harm bin Laden's corpse and to hand it and those of others killed to their families, although U.S. officials say bin Laden's body has been buried at sea and no others were taken from the compound.

Some in the Muslim world have been skeptical of bin Laden's death. One survey conducted in Pakistan this week by the British-based YouGov polling organization found that 66 percent of over 1,000 respondents did not think the person killed by U.S. Navy SEALs was bin Laden.

Before Friday prayers at a mosque in Paris, one man who declined to give his name said: "This whole story is a myth. They invented it to distract Americans from real problems over there, like the economy and gas prices."

But U.S. President Barack Obama continued to bask in public approval for the killing of bin Laden. He flew to a military base at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, on Friday to thank special forces involved in the raid.

"This has been an extraordinary week for our nation," Obama told a jubilant audience of troops. "The terrorist leader who struck our nation on September 11 will never threaten our nation again." But he warned that "this continues to be a very tough fight."

U.S.-PAKISTAN TENSIONS

Anger and suspicion between Washington and Islamabad over the raid in Abbottabad, 30 miles from the Pakistani capital, showed no sign of abating.

A U.S. drone killed 17 suspected militants in northwest Pakistan, despite warnings from the Pakistani military against the mounting of attacks within its borders.

About 1,500 Islamists rallied in the southwestern city of Quetta to vow revenge for bin Laden's death and there were small protests elsewhere. Afghan Taliban and Islamist Indonesian youths made similar threats.

A Taliban spokesman said the group "believes the martyrdom of Sheikh Osama bin Laden will give a new impetus to the current jihad against the invaders." Bin Laden lived for years in Afghanistan and is thought to have plotted the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States from there.

One of bin Laden's wives, Amal Ahmed Abdulfattah, told Pakistani interrogators the al Qaeda leader had been living for five years in the compound where he was killed, a Pakistani security official told Reuters.

The disclosure appeared sure to heighten U.S. suspicions that Pakistani authorities had been either grossly incompetent or playing a double game in the hunt for bin Laden and the two countries' supposed partnership against violent Islamists.

Pakistani security forces took 15 or 16 people into custody from the Abbottabad compound after U.S. forces removed bin Laden's body, said the security official. They included bin Laden's three wives and several children.

In Washington, a U.S. official said U.S. intelligence had established on-the-ground surveillance in Abbottabad in advance of the raid.

U.S. officials also said among materials found at bin Laden's hide-out was evidence indicating al Qaeda at one point considered attacking the U.S. rail system on the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks later this year.

Officials said evidence analyzed so far indicated bin Laden was still involved in directing al Qaeda's activities, even though he had largely avoided the public spotlight for years.

The fact that bin Laden was found in a garrison town -- his compound was not far from a military academy -- has embarrassed Pakistan and the covert raid has angered its military.

Pressure is building in the U.S. Congress to suspend or at least review U.S. aid to Pakistan.

VIDEO FOOTAGE

The Pakistan army, for its part, threatened on Thursday to halt counterterrorism cooperation with the United States if it conducted any more similar raids.

It was unclear if such attacks included drone strikes the U.S. military conducts regularly against militants along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.

Pakistani security officials have charged that U.S. troops, after landing by helicopter, shot the unarmed al Qaeda leader in cold blood rather than in a firefight, as U.S. officials first suggested.

Amid differing accounts this week of how much hostile fire the SEALs encountered in the compound, one Pakistani security official said on Friday that U.S. forces should release video footage he said they "must have" of the operation.

U.N. human rights investigators called on the United States to disclose the full facts "to allow an assessment in terms of international human rights law standards.

The Pakistani military also said on Thursday it had decided to reduce the U.S. military presence in the country.

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Colonel David Lapan said the Defense Department had not received notice from Islamabad about any decision to change the size of the U.S. military contingent in Pakistan. He said there were a little under 300 U.S. military personnel in Pakistan, many of them trainers.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the relationship was "complex" but pointed to Pakistan's effort against the Taliban and al Qaeda in its own tribal areas and the use of its territory as a U.S. supply route.

"At the same time, there's no question they hedge their bets," said Gates, fielding questions from service members at an Air Force base in North Carolina. "Their view is that we have abandoned them four times in the last 45 years. And they're not sure we're going to stay in the region."

"So we just have to keep working at it, on both sides," he added.

REUTERS

For allegedly defrauding the Ondo State government, eight students of Saint Peter’s Unity Secondary School, Akure, were yesterday arraigned before a magistrate court in Akure.

The students were apprehended on Wednesday on the instruction of the state commissioner for education, Pius Osanyikanmi.

They were arrested for presenting fake bank tellers to the management of their school as proof that they had paid their tuition.

The commissioner prevented the students, who are in their final year in school, from writing the ongoing West Africa Examination (WAEC).

And yesterday, the students appeared before the Akure Magistrate Court on a two-count charge of conspiracy and fraud.

The affected students are Adenuga Abiodun, Ewegbemi Femi, Imafidon Tope, Akinnawonu Nelson, Olorunusi Ayodeji, Ayinnuola Damola, Umeric Michael and Akinbowa Tayo.

They were arraigned in court for allegedly forging Spring Bank Teller, an offence that is contrary to Section 467(2) of the Criminal Code cap 30 Vol 11 of the laws of the state.

While the charges were read against them in court, the students pleaded not guilty. Their counsel consequently applied for their bail.

The Magistrate, however granted the suspects bail of N150,000 each with sureties in like sum. He said the sureties must be their fathers or residents of Akure Magistrate district.

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President of the Living Faith Church (a.k.a Winners Chapel worldwide), Bishop David Olaniyi Oyedepo yesterday spoke on the efficacy of divine grace, saying it is what makes a person great, and not material possessions. The love of material things leads to corruption, he said.

Oyedepo said no one would ever be greater than the grace available to him, adding that every genuine worshipper of God always ends up "a celebrity."

The Bishop spoke in a sermon at the church’s week-long celebration to mark its 30th anniversary. The programme ends with a "liberation night" from 10pm today till 5:00am tomorrow. There will be two thanksgiving services on Sunday at 7am and 9.45 am.

Oyedepo attributed the height the church had attained to God’s "unmatchable grace". He described the past 30 years as those of "impact, ever-increasing growth, undeniable testimonies, begging-free adventure and absolute dependency on God who has never begged anybody."

Reading from Psalms 92: 1to3, 10 to15 on the need for gratitude for God’s blessings, Oyedepo said its benefits include supernatural strength (physically, emotionally and spiritually), access to divine presence where revelation flows, access to fresh anointing, victory over enemies, supernatural flourishing that culminate into fearful blessings, and access to supernatural lifting and fruitfulness that command results even at old age.

He added: "You don’t beg God for anything that will give him glory; when God is sure of all the glory, you’ve committed him to perform. Where you are today is by the grace of God.

"Acknowledge the grace, celebrate the source of the grace (God) and you are sure for more. Every time you complain, you complicate your case. Every complainer ends up a victim; it is gratitude that makes you a victor."

In a sermon yesterday titled: "Wonders of praise", the church’s Vice-President, Bishop David Abioye said a life of praise is a favoured life, adding: "God’s favour comes to see you only when you please God with your praise, (Psalm 64:30-31) and when God is pleased, he releases his pleasures and treasures."

He also noted that supernatural harvest answers to praise (Psalm 67:5-7), while qualitative praise results to great qualitative harvest, adding that revelation flows when praise is offered, as it is the key to physical and spiritual elevation.

Senior Pastor, Kingsway International Christian Centre, Mathew Ashimolowo, who was a guest minister, urged the worshippers to get set for a new phase of harvests

The London-based preacher said if God could prophetically empower an unbeliever called Cyrus 100 years before his birth and see to its fulfillment, God was more than disposed to committing his divine agenda into the able hands of faithful worshippers.

He urged believers to be alive to their God-given portion as only "a complete take-over" will guarantee the long awaited change in their finances, education and other needs.

The anniversary celebration was decentralised to give every Winners Chapel church the freedom to enjoy the season as they deem fit, unlike the previous ones where they all converged on Canaanland, the church’s headquarters in Ota, Ogun State.

There were musical and gospel artistes Asu Ekiye and Folake. Other clergymen in attendance were Bishop John Grace Daniel, Bishop John Osawumen, Pastor Sam Olubiyo, Apostle Mungare, Bishop Ebenezer Obey, among others.

An exhibition was earlier held at the Covenant University, Ota, showcasing an array of inventions by the Centre for Research and Development of the university, one of which is the E-election biometric system that can handle voter registration, accreditation, voting and compilation of election results.